The Return
by Sterella
Summary: Following the events after Silent Hill 3. Heather/Cheryl is called back to Silent Hill for unknown reasons and meets up with an old friend. Blood, gore, swearing, all that good stuff. Summary sucks because I don't want to give anthing away.
1. Chapter 1

**In this story Heather is referred to as Cheryl in following the events after Silent Hill 3. It may not be completely accurate on account of me never actually playing any of the games (Hey! I did watch a walkthrough episode or two! That and I brushed up on some facts thanks to good ol' Silent Hill Wiki.) Please enjoy and review so I know that I am doing a good job!**

**Important: **_The deity of the cult god, will be addressed as lower-case god. I am religious, and this is how I am going to write it, and that's that. *snap, snap, snap*_

**By the way, I don't own Silent Hill or any of the characters.**

***And I am open to anyone wanting to beta the next chapters! So please let me know if you have ever played the game and would be willing to beta!**

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><p><em>It's finally over. <em>

Heather Mason, no wait…Cheryl Mason, just felt relieved to finally be out of Silent Hill. After finding Douglas, she had helped the old detective into his car and drove away from the town of nightmares.

She sighed, looking over to see Douglas staring at her, a faraway look clouding his eyes.

"What?" she asked with a shrug. Douglas started to speak, then seemed to give it a little more thought, combing a hand through his grey hair "So, what are you going to do now?"

She was a little taken aback, she had just gotten out of that hellish place; she hadn't really put a lot of thought into the future while fighting for her life. "I dunno." she shrugged and acted like it was no big deal.

However the question remained hanging over her head. _What am I going to do?_

Douglas' leg was torn up pretty bad, despite him trying to shrug it off as nothing, she knew that he had to be hurting pretty badly and they were going to go right to the hospital. Cheryl let Douglas lean on her as they limped into the ER. Inside, it was nice and clean, and it had that familiar chemically smell associated with most hospitals.

The front desk girl saw the bleeding man and yelled "We need a wheelchair over her! This man is bleeding heavy!"

When a group of nurses and doctors ran out to take him from her, she tried not to twitch. _I'm not in Silent Hill…I don't need to be worried. _But still the feeling haunted her, as if at any moment the walls were going to peel away revealing rusted and blood spattered metal grating. Taking a deep breath she plopped down on one of the semi-comfortable chairs in the lobby, waiting to hear how Douglas was going to be.

The lady at the desk saw finally noticed her and motioned for her to come to the front desk. "Honey, don't worry he is going to be just fine. They want to keep him overnight though, just to be sure his wounds will heal alright." She gave her a soft smile, and a light pat on the hand "Why don't you go on home and get some rest?"

She was terribly tired; it had been a long time since she had slept. Yawning loudly she thanked the kind lady and left the hospital.

She drove back to Daisy Villa Apartments. There really wasn't anywhere else for her to go. _I'm alone now… _The loneliness crashed over her like a wave, as soon as she closed the door she ran into her bedroom and cried into her pillow. _Dad, why? I have been through so much… I made it… You would be so proud. _Not bothering to undress she curled into bed and let the exhaustion sweep her away.

z.z.z.z.z

_She walked down a fog shrouded road, the buildings looming overhead grey and ghostly. She wasn't exactly sure where she was going, but her feet carried her onwards into the void. _It's so quite… _Even her thoughts sounded loud in this place. Up ahead there was a figure, watching her intently from the haze._

_Her instincts told her to stay away from whatever it was, turn back the other way. But she wanted to see who it was here all alone in the fog. She gave herself a quick pat down, hoping she had some kind of weapon in her dream world. _Of course not. _Well, the thing didn't look harmful…it certainly wasn't attacking her anyways. "Hey, who are you?" She called out, hoping it was friendly. _

_Upon closer inspection she could see it was just a man. His hair was startlingly yellow in color, and his eyes were a warm caramel brown. He wore a light grey business suit and red tie, with sharp black shoes…overall he was a handsome man. She didn't recognize him, but it was weird that her subconscious would conjure such a person._

_He caught sight of her and waved his hand to her "Cheryl? Is that you?" Cautiously she walked towards him, checking to make sure he didn't have any intentions of hurting her._

"_How do you know my name?" _He may seem all nice and friendly, but you can never tell in a dream.

_The man smiled, and, of course, he had perfect white teeth to match his angelic features. "We have…met before. You might not remember me. But please, calm yourself, I'm not here to hurt you."_

_Despite his reassurances, she did not feel like calming down. "Why are you here?"_

_His brows furrowed, and he shifted his feet, the black leather shoes he wore making a slight squeak "I-I came to ask…" She thought she saw his head give a little twitch, but it was too quick to tell for sure. He took a deep breath and then gave his reply "I came to ask you to come with me." He extended his right hand out to her. "Silent Hill calls for you, but it is too weak to force you to come."_

_She began to shake her head, terrified and angry at the same time. _I just left that horrible place. Why do I need to go back?

_The man still held out his hand, an offer yet to be taken or refused. "Please, Silent Hill needs you to come back, Cheryl." His soft eyes pleaded, a strange spark of fear in his gaze._

Crazy as this all is, it's only a dream_. "Yeah, sure, whatever." She grabbed hold of his hand. "I'm just going to wake up in an hour or so."_

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><p><strong>I know, just a really short chapter. I really want to see what kind of feedback I'm going to get for this. I'm really scared to continue because I don't exactly know the Silent Hill universe very well. Remember to review for me! Sterella loves you.<strong>

***If you have played any of the games before and would like to beta the upcoming chapters, please PM me! I will give you credit for helping me and giving me storyline data!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So...Here is the next chapter. I haven't found a Beta Reader yet so it might not be 100% true to the Silent Hill universe. Please, don't hate on me for it... Instead, be my Beta Reader! :D **

**I thought I would let you guys know that I believe in the Xuchilbara, Lobsel Vith Creation 4 Myth, so I will reference it throughout the series.**

**Ok, enjoy!**

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><p>\/\/**V**\/\/\

She was here, really here, with him.

He thought for certain he would never see her again after he sent her back. But here she was.

A swath of her beautiful blonde hair fell in front of her face, obscuring the left side of her face. He felt a strange warmth bloom in his chest.

Her eyes flicked every so often as she slept. It was a funny little thing…sleeping, and he was utterly fascinated. She breathed so slowly and lightly, giving a tiny snore here and there.

_She looks so peaceful. _

From the ceiling, he watched with special care, ready to jump to her aid at any moment, prepared to fight if he had to. _As much as I abhor violence._ He was the god of rebirth after all, hurting others was more suited for Xuchilbara.

_I wonder how long mortals need to sleep. It seems like it's been forever- _

Just then, Cheryl stretched and gave a high squeak as a popping sound came from her limbs. _She's hurt herself! _He let go of the ceiling, landing right next to her bed, hands extended to heal.

*^*^***C***^*^*

Cheryl stretched, her bones giving a satisfying pop, and gave a tiny squeaky yawn. She had slept so well, after being so exhausted-

*slam* Her eyes shot open to see a faceless monster reaching out to grab her. She slipped off the side of the bed screaming, and somehow managed to get her ass caught in the space between the bed and the wall. "Ah, shit, shit, no!" She struggled against the bed, trying to free herself and scramble to safety. But the bed wouldn't budge.

The only thing she could do was put her hands out to try and protect herself from her oncoming doom.

_This is it. After all I have been through, I'm going to die from my ass being stuck. _If it were anyone but her she would have laughed at the stupidity.

She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that it will at least be quick.

"Huh?" She stammered as strong hands wrapped around her wrists and tugged her from her supposed tomb, sitting her lightly on the bed.

A crouching, twitchy, faceless monster was checking her over. Red tendrils snaked from its arms lightly touching her skin every now and then as its hands hovered over her body.

"Uh…" She really wasn't sure if she was awake or still dreaming. It stopped its checking, the red things retracting into a split in its arms. It cocked its head to the side, as if confused, and then stood up.

It was a huge monster, looming over her. "What are you doing?" The question just kinda popped out. She didn't know why she was talking to it, it's not like the monster could answer.

"You're not hurt? I thought I heard you cry out in pain." The monster rasped, its voice sounding a little like a heavy smoker and definitely male.

She wasn't sure if she felt shocked that it had spoken…or terrified of its intimidating stature…maybe a little bit of both.

"Did you just _speak_?" She jumped off the bed and backed away from it while looking about the small bedroom for any kind of weapon.

The monster started a fit of violent twitches, but got them under control before speaking "Yes…I can speak. …Cheryl, what are you looking for? Can I get something for you?"

Cheryl found nothing, nothing in the whole freaking room to use as a weapon. She stopped her search and turned to look at the "friendly" monster, there was something about it, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Yellow leathery face, red gloves, long robe, black rubber boots, and red markings on its shoulders…"You look familiar-"

The monster beat her to it, "Yes. We have met on a few occasions. Well, a little more than a few," It rubbed at the back of its neck. It seemed strange for a monster to enact the human gesture. "Although, we have never been properly introduced."

Suddenly it extended its right, red gloved hand; the three middle fingers appeared to be fused together. She examined it, and then looked back up to it "Huh?" She probably looked like one of those dopey cartoon characters with their mouth on the floor, but in all honesty that's what she felt like.

It lowered its hand slightly, the patchwork face distending a bit in what she could only guess was confusion "Don't mortals shake hands when they introduce? My mistake…I can only learn so much from the worshippers." Before the monster could retract the hand Cheryl grabbed it, much to its surprise and her own.

"Well, we do…it's just I never expected this from a monst-" She cut off quickly, hoping not to offend this possible friend. "My name is Cheryl Mason…although you seem to already know that. Who might you be?"

The monster wasted no time in shaking her hand rather excitedly, like a two year old having a go at it for the first time.

"My name…well, you can call me Valtiel. My real name is rather difficult for most to pronounce." The corners of its patched face seemed to raise a little, making a tight crease along where its mouth should be.

_Whoa, now that's a smile fit for nightmares. _But she held that little remark in, instead smiling back as friendly as she could.

"So, Valtiel…do you mind telling me why I'm here?"

The monster, Valtiel, appeared just as confused as she was. "I…honestly, I have no idea. I know you were sent back to your world…" Cheryl noticed he was still clutching her hand, despite their introduction having come to a close.

*Eh-hmm* She looked pointedly at her trapped hand.

"Hmm? Oh! Yes, sorry…" He quickly released her hand and started fiddling with his gloved hands awkwardly.

Why was he being so nice? _Has he forgotten that I killed his god? _The memory of it made her shiver. "So…does this mean no hard feelings for killing your god?" She probably shouldn't have asked…but she needed to find out what this guy's edge was. This had to be some kind of trick or something.

Valtiel winced a bit, a twitch making his head jerk. "Oh, that…ha-ha, yeah…you did kill her… But it's no big deal. I'm just glad you're ok." He had a strange faraway look, despite not having eyes.

_This guy is a total nut-case. _

"Yeah…thanks for being so understanding." She kicked lightly at a nearby chunk of plaster, the tension in the air becoming unbearable. "Well… I better get going." She gave a mock salute and tried her best to keep from running out the door to her left. _Exit stage left…I'm getting the hell out of here._

She expected hands to wrap around her at any moment, a spike to slash through her back, her head to get chomped off…but nothing happened. She kept on walking down the apartment hallway, unhindered.

Taking a deep breath she chanted: _Don't look back. Don't look back. In all the movies the character that turns around dies._

Curiosity got the best of her.

Growling she spun around arms raised to fight, to see nothing. Nothing but the dark empty hallway.

She sighed heavily, feeling completely relieved. _So that's it? He is just going to let me go?_ _You know what, maybe I imagined the whole thing…I wouldn't be surprised if I was going crazy._

She shrugged the thought off, turning her attention to finding a weapon. She tried to piece together where she was, but nothing seemed to come to mind. This was the normal world, or maybe the fog world, a little grubby, but not too bad. _It's kind of funny; I can't really recognize anything without all the blood and rust. _

She was happy for the change though.

Off to the side there was a door that read room 72. She jiggled the doorknob to find it unlocked and helped herself inside.

It was another small room, complete with dusty bed sheets and dreary drapes. Something in particular caught her eye, a glint of metal beneath the bed. She crouched down and pulled out a metal baseball bat. The ball came rolling out from under the bed as well, but she had no desire to hit a home run anytime soon. "Score, this ought to come in handy!" Now she was making some progress!

She felt much better now that she had something in her hands.

The hallway got darker the further down she went. She grabbed her favorite flashlight, smacked it a couple of times and flicked the switch. _More dark, creepy hallway._

Nothing, what the hell was going on here anyways? Where were all the monsters? She knew that when she was here the last time monsters were freaking crawling out of the walls, all eager to get a taste of her blood. And now there was just silence.

Her dream came back to her suddenly: _The handsome man extending his hand out to her pleading "Please, Silent Hill needs you to come back." _She had to admit, there was something off about the nightmare world…but she had expected that since she had killed their god.

Things were bound to get fucked up when you did that.

A movement down the hall caught her attention. Something had just darted around the corner. _Finally some action. _She raised her metal bat, cocking her arm up and ready to swing…just like her Dad had shown her. Quickly she blocked the memory and the oncoming tears. _This isn't the time to get emotional._

She came to the corner, held her breath and then charged in. Sure enough, a small monster with pale veiny skin was trudging along the hallway. _Aha! Numb Body. Haven't seen one of those in a while. _

It turned its head towards her and made a babyish whine then hop-limped towards her. Cheryl slammed the bat into the side of its head, knocking the creature to the floor and began kicking it mercilessly while it screamed.

"Whew, for a second there I thought I wasn't in Silent Hill." She laughed to herself despite the situation. _Guess this place has gotten to me…I'm not really that scared anymore. _

She explored the floors, finding nothing of significance except a bit of beef jerky. She came to the steps that led down to the basement. _Erm, I don't know if I should… _

Taking a deep breath she began down the steps and whispered "Ok, Silent Hill brought me here for a reason. There has to be something, somewhere that I need to kill." The best place to look for that something would be anyplace she wouldn't want to go to.

The basement of the apartment complex smelled of mold and dust, the air thick and moist. It was relatively empty. There was absolutely nothing here… _Hmm? What's that?_ Cheryl walked over to the back corner, her flashlight gleaming off something in the dark.

The thing that had been reflecting her light was a mirror. It was an old, ornately framed mirror. _Right here, in the middle of this nothing. Creepy. _Her flashlight sputtered and flashed as she tried to mull over the significance of the mirror.

"Great." She pulled it out of her jacket pocket and smacked it a couple of times, making it sputter more, then went out completely.

She turned back to the mirror, even though it was pitch black without her light, the mirror showed everything clearly, as if the lights were actually on. She gasped.

In the mirror image a large form was shambling behind her. She turned around, her bat ready, but could see nothing but blackness. She looked back to the mirror, watching in horror as a Closer noticed her standing by the mirror. It stalked towards her mirror-self, dragging its heavy club-like arms, head gyrating furiously in excitement. Once it got closer she heard it growl hungrily from the shadows. _Oh great, found a weapon…but not the one I need._

With her escape cut off, she blindly swung at the air when it was within swinging distance of her mirror-self. She felt the bat connect and heard it growl angrily.

_Maybe I can run past it now. _She turned her head back to the mirror trying to see where it was now. "Shi-" The Closer lashed out with one massive, spike tipped arm, knocking her into the mirror, shattering the glass. The sinister bone-like blade stabbed through her belly with a sickening squish. Cheryl screamed, hunching into herself from the pain.

There was a screeching roar from somewhere in the darkness.

At this, the monster removed the appendage, whined and began to trudge away from her. Whatever the monster was trying to escape must have caught it because there was a deafening scream, hot blood spattered against her face from the shadows.

Not wanting to wait around for the other monster to find her, she tried to get up and run from whatever was killing the screaming Closer. Cheryl cried out in pain when she got to her knees, large glass shards from the mirror stabbing into her flesh. _I hate mirrors._

The huge Closer let out a final yelp before a sickening snapping sound signaled its end. Cheryl curled into herself, praying the darkness would hide her from the obviously more fearsome monster.

She heard a light scrabbling sound slowly coming towards her. She waited for the end. Her blood was gushing from out between her fingers and pooling around her legs, making her light-headed.

With one hand she raised the bat. _If I'm going down, I'm going down swinging._ The monster in the shadows gave a curt growl then scampered closer.

All her force was put into the next swing, and it was a good one. The bat cracked against the creature.

"Ow! What was that for?" The darkness groaned.

"Who is that?" She called, her vision starting to blur.

"It's me, Valtiel. I came to check up on you and…you're bleeding!" He exclaimed from the shadows. Strong arms wrapped around her, cradling her against cold flesh.

The creature ran at a speed that made her mind whirl. She rested her weary head to his chest, trying to not black out as he whisked her away.

Before she knew it they were back in the room she had woke up in. Gently the monster laid her down on the bed, his patch-face scrunching around the edges.

His hands hovered over her body, as those weird red tendrils snaked out from the crease in his flesh.

Cheryl laughed nervously "I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going." _I hope that won't come back to bite me on the ass._

Valtiel turned his head, confused "What?" The joke obviously was wasted breath on this guy.

"Never mind-" She gasped as the red tendrils began to worm their way under her torn flesh. "Ouch! What the hell? Get your tentacle things out of me!" She swatted at them trying to rip them out from under her skin.

Valtiel yelped when she managed to tear a few of them and grabbed hold of her wrists, leaning over her, his eye less face staring intently. All friendliness gone "I'm _healing _you. If you do not comply you will die." What could she say to that? Grumbling, she lay back down, but kept an eye on those tentacle-things.

Satisfied, he turned back to her injuries.

The pain from the squirming things was bad at first, but slowly it dulled to a warm sensation.

She could feel the ripped muscles and organs forming back together and, to top off the weirdness, hot ooze began squirting into her system from a couple of the tendrils, making her light-headedness nonexistent.

She watched utterly fascinated when they finally retracted, sealing up her torn flesh in rapid flickering movements.

When the tendrils went back under her monster-friend's skin and he backed away she gave her legs a couple of test kicks. She pulled her shirt up over her belly and saw that it was smooth and not bleeding. It felt like nothing had ever happened; she stood up and walked a step or two, marveling.

Her new friend started sputtering barely coherent apologies for his rudeness earlier, twiddling his fingers nervously. _He may be a horror on the eyes…but he saved me._ She interrupted his apologizing,"Hey, Valtiel,"

He turned his gaze up to her, "Yes?" His leathery face crimpling into concern again.

"Thank you."

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><p><strong>Ok. Another Chapter down! I hope you guys are liking it so far. Please remember to review and don't foget I STILL NEED A BETA READER. PM me if you are interested.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, in case you are wondering, this is a rather old story of mine. I am only publishing it now because I need to do _something. _Please review and tell me if this is good or not. :I Cause I have barely looked over this old thing.**

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><p>\/\/**V**\/\/\

After Cheryl's attack he proclaimed he was going to follow her everywhere…surprisingly that did not comfort her. He sighed lightly as he crawled along after her on the ceiling of the apartment.

_I don't understand why she feels she has to go to the roof. _But she was a determined thing that Cheryl. He insisted that she stay in the safety of the room, and he would bring her anything she needed. She had refused his offer, vehemently claiming "Where's the fun in that?" He grumbled to himself. _Her version of "fun" seems to be getting attacked by monsters._ But, it was what she wanted, so he would settle for watching over her.

Occasionally she would look up at him and shudder as he followed along the ceiling. _I wonder if she is scared of me… _The worshippers loved it when he twisted and crawled along the walls and ceiling. They thought it was amazing and powerful. _Cheryl is not like those worshippers though. _No, Cheryl was something different entirely. If she was disturbed by his wall crawling then he should make her feel more comfortable. He dropped down to the floor, eager to test out his practiced human walk.

"Ahh!" Cheryl screamed at his landing and tried to hit him in the face with the bat again.

He twisted away easily, and couldn't help the grin that wormed its way to his patched face at scaring the tough girl.

Cheryl scrunched her face at him angrily and slapped a hand on his chest "Don't _do _that! You about made me shit my pants!"

The two walked on in silence after. The only thing that really bothered them were a couple of small Numb Bodies and a Double Head. Each of which Cheryl insisted on dispatching with her new toy.

The roof of the apartment building was, as he had said before, empty.

"Ugh, there's nothing here! Geez, what's a girl gotta do to get a good weapon around here?" For a moment she stalked about the roof, searching high and low for anything that would make their trip here meaningful.

Finally she sighed and gave up.

To his horror Cheryl pulled herself up onto the roof ledge and sat down, her legs dangling over the edge. "Cheryl! Wait, get back from there!" He dashed over ready to pull her back, but she put out her closed hand in a human "stop" gesture.

"Cool it Val." She smiled and tapped the empty spot next to her.

"Val?" He sat down on the edge beside her, not really sure why he was being made to do so.

Cheryl cocked her head, her blonde hair cascading to the side. The foggy sunset made it gleam golden "Is that nickname ok? I didn't mean to offend you…"

Quickly he interjected "No, no it's nice." He liked it a lot actually. Cheryl had given him a special name…a nickname. The thought brought the pleasant warmness back into his chest.

For a while she stared out over the foggy town watching the light begin to fade, but then she broke the silence "I was wondering Val…why aren't you mad at me? I killed your god."

Valtiel contained a nervous twitch. He had tried answering that same question many times over, and never came to a conclusion. "I-I don't know…"

"You don't know?" She sputtered "People don't just let killers live after they murder someone they love. I wanted to kill Claudia for murdering my Dad! How come you haven't killed me for killing god?" She leaned towards him, making him uncomfortable.

"I don't know." His uncertainty let the twitches break through his control.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Despite the fact that he was so much larger than her, and was a monster at that…she was starting to scare him. She continued to press him, her eyes burning into his soul, tearing him apart.

"I don't know! …I'm confused." He confessed. He gave in. There was no big dark secret; he had nothing to hide.

After a long pause her eyes softened.

She scooted over and wrapped her arms around him. He had seen other humans do this before, but he had never understood why they would do such a strange thing. It felt warm…and pleasant, definitely nice; it helped ease the awful twitching that was wracking his body.

She whispered "I'm sorry…I didn't think…" He nodded, and wrapped his arms around her. He wanted to stay like this, to hold sweet Cheryl right here and not let her go… "Uh…Val?"

Feeling a bit embarrassed he let her go. "You know, it's not your fault Cheryl. I understand your confusion. I used to watch over you to protect god inside you. But…when she died…I wasn't really drawn to god anymore. There was just this nothingness…it makes no sense." He sighed "I just kind of…lost my purpose I guess…or, maybe I never had one to begin with."

Cheryl grunted in response, looking out over the foggy town.

He studied her, and felt that strange warmth spread in his deathly cold chest. She looked over at him and gave a nervous smile.

"Well…if you think about it, you do have a purpose."

He cocked his head to the side "What is that?"

She laughed and lightly slugged him on the shoulder "Keeping me out of trouble."

*^*^***C***^*^*

She had found it hard to sleep with him watching over her. So he had compromised with lurking in the vent in the ceiling. Needless to say she still had not slept well. Despite feeling groggy and sleepy she had decided it best to continue exploring the building. She still had a couple floors to cover, and of course, Valtiel had insisted on dogging her heels. Although, he was going about it in a new fashion.

Trying to keep from laughing at his attempts at walking was more than difficult.

He was definitely trying too hard. He looked like one of those stiff legged British soldiers with the stuffy attitudes and tall helmets._ He tries so hard to be human._ The thought kind of made her sad. _I wonder if any of those other monsters feel the same way…I wouldn't want to live like that either. _She bit her lip, thinking it probably wasn't a good idea to ask him that.

The two walked back to the room after another uneventful search. And you know what? For once she wasn't scared that he might gobble her up at any second. After grilling him yesterday she had come to find that he was no danger to her. _He is just as lost as I am._ Apparently they were in the same boat…with no paddles between the two of them.

Cheryl sat down on the bed and looked out the window to see…yep you guessed it, more fog. "Hey, you know something?" Valtiel had crawled back onto the ceiling, apparently where he was most comfortable. She was starting to get used to it.

"Hmm?"

"The whole time I've been here Otherworld hasn't appeared." After seeing his blank expression she explained "You know, the veiny, rusty, bloody, creepy as hell place…" She turned her head at the sound of the monster's sniggering. "What's so funny?"

"Well, of course it hasn't appeared, I haven't shifted the dimensions." He chuckled and shifted to a lying position on the ceiling, peering down at her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You haven't shifted the dimensions? What the hell does that even mean?"

"Oh, you don't know?" He tapped a gloved finger to his chin "Sorry, I keep forgetting you aren't a worshipper. I control the shifts between dimensions by turning special valves, I guess what you call "Otherworld" is one of them. I don't really name such places, but you described it pretty well."

"What the fuck? You could control the whole shifty thing all along?" She was about ready to spaz out. All those horribly scary experiences filled with rust and blood were all controlled by her supposed friend. "Why would you make me go through that hell?"

He got to his feet, his arms crossed over his chest. His face was right in front of hers, although wrong-side up. He looked angry, his leathery face pinched into a distorted scowl fit for nightmares. "Hey! I'm going against every rule in the book by _not _changing worlds. This is kind of a new thing for me." His sudden aggression was a little frightening. The monster had been so skittish and nice up until now. Was he really angry with her? After seeing her frightened reaction, Valtiel calmed down. His eyeless face un-crimpling and stretching back to his usual concern "I'm sorry. This is a touchy subject." He visibly shuddered "I've never done this…I'm a bit concerned what might happen…"

"Valtiel, when did you last shift the worlds?" Her dream resurfaced. _The suit wearing man reached out to her, pleading "Silent Hill needs you to come back, Cheryl."_ He had said Silent Hill was in trouble…Is this what he meant?

"Erm…I haven't tried since you left."

"Do you think you should?"

He paused a moment, looking through her. "What you call "Otherworld" is an extremely dangerous place…especially with god gone. I don't want you to get hurt."

"How about I go with you? Then you can keep an eye on me. And keep me out of trouble." She smiled, trying to loosen him up.

He paused a moment, weighing his options. The monster walked on the ceiling past her, looking out the open window and observing the swirling fog. "Alright." Quick as lightning he dropped down behind her and crawled between her legs. Grabbing her wrists and pulling her arms around his neck.

"Whoa! Wait a sec-" She wrapped her legs around his waist, piggybacking, as he sprinted towards the open window. He leapt, not caring that they were on the seventh floor of the building. Her heart jumped into her throat, at seeing nothing but foggy ground below them. _Oh god what if he can't crawl with the both of us?_ Gravity seemed to go out of whack, she felt weightless for a moment, and then it came back, pulling them towards the side of the building. Even though they were standing on the _side _of the building she felt like they were standing on the ground… Her hair was even in place. She gasped, and clung on to her guardian more tightly "Ok, consider my mind fucked."

Valtiel laughed and got on all fours, dashing across the building at inhuman speed.

She got over the fear of falling pretty quickly as they raced on the sides of buildings, ran on the ceiling of hallways, and spat in the face of gravity altogether. _This is actually really fun_. "So, where are we going anyways?" It was hard to tell with the fog.

"Brookhaven Hospital has the closest valve. I thought we'd head there."

She tried to swallow her fears and be brave. Letting Valtiel change the dimensions would bring the Otherworld forth…the thought of seeing it again… _No. The man in my dream said something was wrong with Silent Hill. This must be it._

Once they got close to the hospital Valtiel crawled down the side of a neighboring building, and brought them down to the pavement. "I can't take you through the vents. We will have to go on foot." She slid from his back and began walking towards the dreaded hospital.

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><p><strong>Sappy chapter is sappy...so what? Beta reader still wanted. ;) And please remember to review!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Still need a Beta Reader if anyone is interested! :D And if not, please enjoy this chapter! By the way, I posted this so early because I couldn't wait! I think it is a really great chapter and I also have a spicy lemon spin-off story (from this chapter only) called: _Sins Atoned. _Check it out! **

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><p>*^*^*<strong>C<strong>*^*^*

Inside it looked like a typical hospital, only aged and unkempt. It wasn't too different from the hospital she had left Douglas at. _Douglas, aww geez! _She hadn't even thought about the old detective…not once since she turned up here. _I'm sure he will be ok. _She shook herself out of these thoughts, and focused. Before them lie once white tile floors and grimy walls, dark uninviting hallways, and a rather stagnant antiseptic smell. Even though it looked empty, she knew better than to get distracted by thoughts now. Her monster friend Valtiel was on edge too. He swept his eyeless gaze over the vicinity, tensed. "They are here." She strained to hear or see anything that might be hiding in the dark shadows.

"How do you know that?" Without answering he cut in front of her protectively. That's when she heard a slight rustling sound from down the left dark hall.

Her guardian growled low and menacingly as a Nurse came shaking and panting from behind the receptionist's desk. The Nurse stopped, head bobbing and legs near buckling with tremors. Valtiel glared at the other monster, and loosed an animalistic snarl. The Nurse clutched a metal pipe in its hand. For a moment the two stood staring, daring each other to make a move. Cheryl realized she was holding her breath, and let it out in a whoosh. With the silence of the standoff broken, the Nurse lurched, stumbling its way towards them. Her monster friend growled louder, a clear warning that the Nurse paid no heed to.

It began to raise the pipe and earned a swift uppercut to its jaw, followed by a sweeping kick, felling the monster. It lay crumpled on the ground screaming in pain. "I'll do worse than that if you try that again." Valtiel hissed. The Nurse, fearing more injury, drug itself back to the safety of the darkness while wailing its torture.

After that little brawl, she took to tailing behind her guardian. She wasn't being a baby or anything, she forgot her bat at the apartment…and it was just nice not having to put herself in harm's way for once. _I don't feel as scared now that I have someone with me…someone who can protect me… someone that-_ Cheryl yelled when she felt something grasp at the back of her vest. She whirled, her pocket flashlight revealing two more nurses reaching out for her. Just like that, her monster swooped in. His foot whipped up, smashing into the bobbing head of the nurse that had grabbed for her, making a sickening crunch and sent flying back into the shadows. Before she could blink, he lashed out at the next one, red-gloved fist smashing into its stomach. Blood sprayed from its mouth when it screamed in pain. Cheryl pressed up against the wall, afraid of getting caught in the middle of the deadly brawl.

A shrieking pant made her turn her head. Not five feet away stood a gun-wielding Nurse with the barrel pointed at her. The narrow hall suddenly flashed with a bright light, followed by a deafening bang.

Her heart stopped. And her eyes squeezed shut, awaiting the white light…or terrible pain.

There was nothing. Carefully she pried open her eyes to see a large figure shielding her. _Valtiel?_ He fell forward onto his knees.

"Val!" She cried, rushing forward to help him. The gun-wielding Nurse shambled towards her guardian, barrel pointed at his head. "Stop, you bitch!" Feeling new courage, she crashed into the grotesque monster and sending the gun spinning away. The nurse screamed angrily, thrashing at her with gloved hands and gnashing its bloody teeth. Cheryl punched the monster in the face, over and over as it writhed. With a sharp smash the nurse's head whipped back, and it fell silent. She looked over to where Valtiel lay face down on the floor.

"Val? Are you ok?" After nudging his shoulder he made no response. She rolled him onto his back. The nurse had shot him in his right temple, the wound was still weeping crimson. Carefully she cupped his head in her left hand and with her right she lightly smacked his cheek to try and get him to wake up. "Valtiel…" _He's a strong monster right? He will be ok, right?_ She whipped her head up at the sound of growling monsters that were drawn by the smell of blood. Instincts commanded her to run away, to leave the dead to die and save herself. _He has helped me more than once... _Screw instincts. _I'm not going to leave him here. _

She didn't want to risk hurting his head further so she grabbed his ankles and began to drag him down the hall. _Geez he's heavy._

…

The scrabbling sound of monsters on the hunt made her heart flutter in her chest. With a quiet grunt she yanked on her possibly dead friend's ankles. _Come on! Just up here. _Off to the left there was a door. She didn't know where it went or if it was even unlocked, but right now she had no other option. The door creaked agonizingly loud when she opened it but at least it opened. She drug Val inside and locked the door behind them.

Chairs of varying sizes and styles littered the room, a few vending machines off in the corner, and a rather large sofa were sprawled about the small room. Quickly she grabbed hold of the nearest vending machine and shoved it in front of the door…she added a chair or two for good measure. _There, that should do it. _She turned her attention back to the limp monster on the floor.

She sat down beside him, and pulled his head to rest in her lap. "Val. Valtiel…wake up." The faceless creature made no move, no sound. With the danger gone, her emotions began to creep up on her. Unwanted thoughts and feelings wormed their way into her mind. _I'm alone again._ _First Dad and now… _He was her friend, he had cared about her. Her vision blurred as her eyes stung from new tears. They pattered and ran down his face, to which he made no response. "Val you stupid…stupid idiot! Don't you leave me!"

Suddenly the tears and blood that were now smeared on her dead friends face made her angry. Still sniffling, she tore off her jacket and used the clean inside to gently clean him up. When the grime was scrubbed away, she noticed that his wound was not bleeding anymore…in fact, hadn't it been deeper than that? A small spark of hope ignited in her heart. Fingers fumbling, she managed to bring out her pocket light and inspect the wound. Right before her eyes, she could see the wound mending…though it was slow going.

_He's alive! _Relief and happiness washed over her, drowning out all the fear and stress of the nightmare world. Leaning down she kissed his brow. He was going to be ok.

She grabbed a nearby couch pillow and put it under his head, then laid her jacket over his chest. If he didn't have that bullet wound in his head it might have been a slightly-morbid-kind-of-cute scene. "I'll be back Val."She figured while she was waiting for Valtiel to wake up she would go and grab that gun the Nurse had dropped. After all, now that Val was out for the count she had to step up her game.

She drug the couch over and then brought the other vending machine over beside it, forming a makeshift ladder that would let her reach the vent overhead with ease.

…

Cheryl trudged down the dark, nightmarish hallway of the hospital. She had thought she'd be able to re-find the place where her and Val had fought off those Nurses…but apparently she had been wrong. All the hallways looked the same: grimy and dark.

_Ugh, I should have waited for Valtiel to get better_- Her thought was cut short by a horrible metal on metal scraping sound. It was something she had never heard before and it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Instinctively, she dodged into the nearest unlocked room and shut the door quietly. _Great, the one room I pick to hide in has nothing to hide behind! _The room was vacant of any furniture, aside from a metal pipe lying off to the side. _Not the best weapon around… _There was no time to begrudge that though as the scraping got louder and louder.

She grabbed the mediocre weapon and backed into a corner of the small room, cringing. Clutching her metal pipe, she tried to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. _It's worse than nails on a chalkboard._ Just when she thought she couldn't stand to hear it another moment, it stopped. She held her breath, hoping the monster had decided to leave her alone. _Go away, go away, go away-_ Suddenly a huge knife slashed through the heavy metal door, making such a horrendous metallic screech Cheryl had to cover her ears.

Her eyes widened at the monster ripping through the doorway. It was nothing she had ever seen before: huge in stature, it wore a bloodied leather apron, inhumanely muscular, and the weirdest thing of all was its red, pyramid shaped helmet. _Now, I've seen everything._ She wasn't about to see what else it could do though.

Cheryl looked all around the room, cursing her unluckiness; no other doors or windows, and the room seemed too small to possibly try and run around the beast. She had to try something though, her options were limited. Carefully, she inched from her corner, keeping close to the shadows.

The…red-pyramid-head-thing had seen her though, he came towards her, dragging the knife along behind effortlessly. _How the heck can he move so fast with that thing? _She dodged as it charged, impaling the knife where her head had once been. Taking the chance she dashed around it and out the door.

_Haha! Outsmarted you pointyhead!_ She raced as fast as she could down the hallway, but to her dismay there was a thunderous pounding sound coming from behind her, followed by the screech of a knife on metal. _Oh shit! How can he freaking run with that?_ She jumped headlong down the stairs towards the basement, hearing a satisfying *c-c-crash* from the monster slamming into the tiled wall behind her. She dared not look back. A loud, horrible, angry moan rumbled from not very far behind and Cheryl blindly bounded down the basement hall, willing her legs to go faster. She screamed in pain as the monster roughly shoved her forward, making her tumble down the hall to land in a heap next to an old gurney.

Panting from exhaustion, she watched as the red pyramid headed monster towered over her prone form, raising its knife for the final blow._ This is it. _The knife came down in a swift thundering stab, taking her breath away.

But he must have missed her because the knife was embedded in the wall near her head. "Wha-" she yelped in pain as she was jerked roughly to her feet, then pinned with her back to the wall, her legs dangling. The monster growled hungrily, grabbing on to her skirt hem. With one swift yank, there was nothing but bits of torn fabric left between her and the monster's pressing form. A frighteningly large bulge under its smock jabbed into her hip.

_Oh fuck no, it isn't really..._ As if that wasn't a clue to what was going on, the red pyramid head let loose a lusty moan, already anticipating what was to come. Cheryl screamed _"Valtiel! Help!"_

/\/\/V\/\/\

_I have to go back. _His thoughts echoed in the haze, crashing and bouncing against unseen objects. He was stuck here, in what humans called Limbo, awaiting return to his world.

_When your vessel heals, you can. _Replied a soft whisper from the grayness.

He lashed out. _I must go back! _He didn't want their input, Cheryl was there in Silent Hill facing god-knows-what while he was trapped here.

The haze shifted, ensnared him in an unseen grasp. It intruded his thoughts, sifting around like he was some amusing toy while he struggled. It tightened its grip on him, painfully squeezing. _Of _course_ you must_ _go back. Go back to your pretty mortal play thing. _Its laugh was an eerily light, cheery sound in the gloom.

_That is not how I feel about Cheryl! _Anger was seething from his soul.

The haze recoiled a bit, seemed a little hurt. _Cheryl._ It mulled over the name, while inspecting him._ You may feel…something, for this mortal. But does she feel the same about you?_ He felt like his heart was plummeting, he didn't want to hear anymore. The haze held him firmly, forced him to listen to their words. _She doesn't want you. You are a monster in her eyes. _The words might as well have been a knife, cutting deep into his soul and leaving a blinding trail of fire.

_Lobsel Vith…mortals have no place amongst us. _The bonds about him was he kidding? He had always kind of knew, deep down._ But you will always be ours. Our angel, stay with us. We have lost one of our own…we have lost influence in Silent Hill. Your Cheryl…she destroyed a piece of us. It may have been weak; an abomination from man…but it was still a part of us._

_No. Please don't…_

_We can't do anything about it, Judgment will rain down on her._

Amidst his suffering, god held him, caressed him. _Angel, you will help us rebuild. _Their calmness pushed lightly against his upset soul. He let them wash over him, a cool wave of tranquil peace. He should just let go-

"Val you stupid…stupid idiot! Don't you leave me!" A female human voice echoed in the gloom.

_Cheryl? _She wanted him to come back? god had gone quiet, the calming haze retreated from him. He turned on them, letting his anger burn. _She cares about me, you lied._

god watched him with veiled interest. After what seemed like forever, they spoke. _We control you. _He felt numbness come over him, suffocating and all powerful. _Free will was a gift…but you forget. You _are_ still ours. _For the first time in eons, he felt fear. The wrath of god was upon him, going to take his conscious, his memories, his soul, his everything.

They sighed sadly. And he was set free. _Go save your mortal… but know that we will not lift the penalty. _

The haze lifted.

…

Valtiel awoke with a start. Gasping as his soul reentered the vessel. "Cheryl-" He croaked, only to find that she was nowhere near. He looked down to see her vest covering him, and he smiled. _She cares. _He was pulled from his thoughts by a strange, bad feeling at the back of his mind. _Something is wrong. _Quick as a flash, he pounced up to the vent overhead; the one Cheryl must have used to leave the room.

He crawled as fast as he possibly could towards the horrible feeling. His senses were reeling, trying to find any sign of Cheryl… _"Valtiel! Help!" _A shrieking scream echoed through the vent._ The basement!_ He dropped down a shaft and peered down into the hallway below.

_Cheryl!_ There she was, pinned against a wall by a huge, strong monster with a red pyramid shaped helmet. Pyramid Head. Valtiel wasted not a moment. He sprung from his vent. Landing on the creature's back, he wrapped his arms about its head and jerked back. Pyramid Head roared, releasing his to-be victim, and spun about, trying to get a handle on god's attendant. Valtiel pressed his boots into the other's back and kicked him away down the hall. _Cheryl…_ Poor Cheryl was hugging the wall, scared to death. He had no time to comfort her though; Pyramid Head was getting back up.

"Hang on Cheryl!" He tried to soothe as he scooped her up too harshly, making her yelp, and leapt for the vent in the ceiling. His rescue attempt was cut short as something grabbed hold of his ankle, yanking him down. In desperation he threw Cheryl up to the vent, praying that she could catch on to the ledge.

Time seemed to slow as he saw her grab hold of the edge and begin struggling up to safety. He felt a wave of relief wash over him, knowing that she was safe…before he came crashing into the ground. His head spun and swam, he felt himself being lifted again. This time he was smashed into a nearby gurney, crushing it in with a metallic crunch. He was then thrown into the opposite wall, knocking the air out of his lungs. As he tried to crawl away, the towering monster's favorite great knife slammed down between his shoulder blades. Not enough to kill, but enough to hurt something awful.

Valtiel heard the monster above him give a menacing chuckle as the knife carved along his spine, leaving a blazing trail of pain. Even though he knew it would only encourage his tormentor, he couldn't help the cry that burst from his lips as he writhed in pain. The knife retracted, but his mind was so overcome with pain he could not move. Valtiel was called the closest to god, he felt anything but right about now. His body began to sag beneath him, beaten and bloody. Large gloved hands roughly grabbed hold of his shoulders and slammed him upright against the wall.

His vision came back into focus and revealed one pissed off Pyramid Head. Valtiel coughed a bit to get his lungs working again and rasped "Hello Xuchilbara…long time no-" His head was slammed back into the wall yet again, followed by a roar. The monster growled low and then gave a curt moan; he seemed to be struggling with something. Valtiel chuckled at the monster's attempts to speak. "What's the matter? Nurse got your tongue? Or, if you prefer, Mannequin?" Valtiel couldn't help the witty remark; he must have caught it from Cheryl. It earned him a strong backhanded smack.

"_Lobsel Vith,"_ The name came out more of a low, gravelly moan than actual speech _"Finally caught you…"_ A chill ran down Valtiel's spine. He could have sworn that behind that helmet the creature was grinning ear to ear. The lustful cretin held him against the wall by his throat with one hand, and with the other he grabbed hold of Valtiel's ceremonial robe. "Wait, Xuchilbara! No!" The robe was ripped away, leaving him completely exposed. _Oh god no. No, no, no, no. _

He kicked and struggled against the monster, but to no avail.

Normally he would have been able to shove him off or at least wriggle free…they were opposites of each other after all, that meant they were fairly symmetrical. _Why is he so strong?_ The two had fought before, and they had always been evenly matched, they were death and rebirth after all. It was how god had designed them.

Pyramid Head was enjoying his prey's struggling. He rumbled a mirthful purr _"What's the matter Lobsel Vith? Can't get free? Seems I have grown stronger…and you are…very weak."_ He leaned in closer, grinding his excited bulge against his body, moaning in sheer delight at the revelation. _"I'm going to enjoy this so very much…"_

Valtiel gasped in horror, trying to press as far into the wall as he could. "Xuchilbara, you cannot do that…th-the law…"

Pyramid Head gave a hiccuppy growl, his version of a laugh, gone wrong _"But, my dear yellow god, who is there to enforce it?"_ Valtiel felt all hope melt away as Pyramid Head used his powerful legs to spread his own apart. _"god can't save you now, angel."_ As if to make his point he began pulling back his smock, exposing himself to god's attendant. Letting him get a good view of the torture he will endure. _"Now that god is dead…I am…without bounds. Now the red god cannot be contained-"_

A loud *clang* reverberated through Pyramid Head's helmet as something hit it, making him briefly lose his hold on Valtiel. "Contain that, you stupid pointyhead!" Cheryl taunted from the vent.

Not wasting a second, the yellow god raced up the wall and out of reach. He dared not look back as he slunk into the open vent above for the safety of the shadows.

Pyramid Head raged down below them, losing his ability to form coherent speech and instead groaned angrily at his lack of release. Valtiel panted in sheer exhaustion and pain. _Wha-What is wrong with me? I shouldn't be so weak... _Once he regained his breath he looked up to see Cheryl crouched in the air duct a little farther down.

"Cheryl! Are you ok?" He stopped, noticing how she was fidgeting around her abdomen. "Did he hurt you?" Valtiel rushed over to her, extending a hand with lashing tendrils to heal any wounds.

Cheryl put a hand out and waved for him to come no further "No, no! I'm not hurt. It's just…umm…" That's when he saw why she was upset…her skirt and panties…were gone.

Quickly he turned his head away, his cold blood rushed to his face…and lower down.

He felt his head and hands give a spastic twitch from excitement. _No! I'm not thinking that! _His body clearly thought otherwise. Knowing that he was naked, he quickly made an excuse to leave "I-I will go get you some clothes!" He sprinted down a branching air duct, cursing the red god with all his being.

*^*^*C*^*^*

Valtiel rushed off… Leaving her alone…

Cheryl hugged her knees to her chest, trying to shake off the pure terror that still coursed through her body. _I wish he wouldn't have left me here alone._ Valtiel was a monster like the rest of them but he made her feel…safe. As weird as that is, a monster makes her feel safe. _He saved me…more than once that is for sure._ _But why? _He kept risking his life for her. He almost got _raped_ to save her!

She shivered at the thought of what that thing would have done to her. Valtiel could revive her; he could have just waited for her to die, and then resurrected her right? She didn't want to get raped, but the whole thing didn't make sense.

There was one thing she did know though: It felt really good throwing her pipe at that Xuchi…Xuk…that stupid pointyhead guy.

Cheryl sighed, trying to cover herself up as much as possible with her shirt. _Damn, I really liked that skirt too._

Her guardian came crawling back, a pair of clothes clutched to his bare chest. He sported a new, bloodied bath towel but it left his chest exposed. She blushed, trying to not stare at him. Awkwardly, she stretched her shirt down to cover her lady-parts with one hand, and accepted the clothing from him with the other.

He turned around politely as she slipped on the pants he had found for her. They were a little tight on the ass, but other than that they were a nice pair of mildly blood-stained jeans. That was when she saw the huge, blood gushing, slash going down his spine. "Valtiel! You're bleeding…"

He turned his sightless gaze back to hers and replied nonchalantly "Don't worry about it Cheryl. I'll be fine." _He certainly doesn't look fine. _

She remembered what that Red Pyramid guy had said. "Are you really a god?" She hoped she didn't sound as suspicious as she felt. _How can he be a god? Gods are supposed to be…well, godly right? _She remembered how god had looked when she had faced her. Valtiel being a god didn't seem as impossible as she thought.

Her friend rubbed his arm absently from embarrassment "Well…yeah, I guess you could call me that. I have many different titles, yellow god, god's attendant, among others. My real name, however, is Lobsel Vith."

"Lobster Vith?" The name sounded funny, but it didn't take away from the fact that her monster friend, the one creature she had come to trust in this nightmare world was a god. It made her head spin.

"Lobsel Vith." He corrected "Now you see why I prefer Valtiel." He smiled in that weird way of his, and offered her his red-gloved hand. "Let's find this valve and head home."

…

After crawling around in the dark, grimy vents Valtiel brought them to what looked like a boiler room. He looked around at the ceiling a moment "Ah, there it is!" She watched as he began to crawl up to the ceiling where a red valve was barely visible next to some dusty piping. "Alright, here goes nothing." As he began turning the valve, it made a slight groaning squeak in protest.

Cheryl hugged herself, fearing the onslaught of a migraine that tended to appear along with the Otherworld. The red veins and blood, rusted metal and cold shadows, it was one hellish place and she admitted that she feared it. She closed her eyes tightly, wanting it to happen quickly, like pulling off a Band-Aid. Above her she heard an angry growl, followed by a curse. She opened her eyes to find that the walls were still only grimy, dark, and dusty. "Val…is something wrong?"

He dropped from the ceiling and straightened. "Something is very wrong. The valves aren't working."

She tried to look upset, she really did, but right now she was so tired. A huge yawn escaped her lips, exhaustion finally setting in from the long eventful day. Valtiel relaxed a bit, and chuckled "Yawning huh? I guess that means it's time for you to go to bed."

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><p><strong>Whew, long chapter huh? Hope that will curve you guys over for a bit! If not, check out my other spin-off story called <em>Sins Atoned<em>! It's what I like to call a spicy lemon. ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey look a new chapter and guess what? I got me a beta reader!** ***grab* You can all thank XxTwistedThornxX for looking over my grammar mistakes and making sure I don't mess up the Silent Hill universe.**

**I don't own anything Silent Hill related, blah, blah, don't sue me... Please review!**

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><p>\/\/**V**\/\/\

It was difficult trying to maneuver through the vents with Cheryl, but he managed to pull her along. She had been very quiet the whole time, keeping to herself and not making any witty remarks like she often did. He was starting

to wonder if there was something he was supposed to say, or something she needed, but then he also felt like he should follow the human example of "giving her some space". _Humans are confusing._

Once outside, he carried her home in his arms, the events had left her utterly exhausted. She was sleeping peacefully with her head resting on his chest.

The odd warmth bloomed in his chest, a dull hot burn that made him feel strong and weak at the same time.

He wanted to keep her safe and would fight anything that would try to harm her, and yet, he knew that if she were to get hurt… The thought was unbearable, even if he could revive her, he didn't want her to feel such things. _When Xuchilbara had her pinned against that wall… _

Anger radiated from his soul. That monster is Judgment, and he will never stop chasing her. Carefully he ran a gloved hand through her hair, letting it slip from his fingers to fall back with the other golden strands. _I won't let him have her._

She stirred slightly, sighing and unconsciously nudging her head under his chin. The anger ebbed away as he watched her journey through the land of dreams. He continued onward, not wanting to wake her.

He carried her back to bed, tucked her in and then barred all the doors and windows. He crawled up to his vent and began his night watch. _Sleep well Cheryl_

*^*^***C***^*^*

"Valtiel!" All the doors and windows were covered by furniture of varying types and sizes. "How on earth did I not wake up?" She must have been more tired than she thought. _There has got to be a way out. _She really had to pee, and this room didn't have a bathroom. Apparently he didn't think of that when he was busy trying to protect her.

"Ugh, Val!" Her guardian did not answer. Where could he have gone? She cursed as she tugged on a heavy furnishing, trying to move it just enough so she could slip past. Thankfully, the space was wide enough for her to squish through and she bolted for the nearest bathroom.

_You know, this bathroom isn't half as dirty as the other rooms_. After relieving herself, she took note of her grimy clothes and skin. When was the last time I showered? She ran a hand through her hair and pulled away in disgust when she felt some kind of dried on muck tangled there. Shower time, now. The curtain was one of those generic opaque plastic things. The shower knobs and drain were a tiny bit rusted. Overall, it wasn't half bad for Silent Hill.

Tentatively she turned the knob that turned the shower on. She half expected blood to come gushing out, but was relieved to see clear, clean water. The water rained down on her outstretched hand.

Smiling at her luck, she propped her metal bat against the door frame, undressed, and got in the shower. She watched in disgust as the clear water that cleansed her body turned a yellow-brown as it went down the drain. _I bet I stunk something awful._ There wasn't any soap around so she combed out her hair as best she could with her fingers to try and remove any kind of nasty gunk she found. It just felt good letting the water's warmth cleanse her, she let it patter against her face and wash away her cares.

A loud clang brought her out of her bliss. She whirled around, covering herself as best she could with her hands. Poking her heard out of the curtain she threatened "Val! I'm in the shower! STAY OUT!" Hopefully he heard her over the sound of the shower, she couldn't imagine how embarrassing that would be-

Her metal bat came rolling out of the steam, stopping just outside the shower curtain. "Valtiel?" For some reason the steam was thick as fog, and shrouded the bathroom in its mist. She could see hardly anything. She picked the bat up in her wet hands and pressed up against the grimy shower tile, forgetting the water that pounded down on her. _Something is here. Of course, while I'm taking a shower. _Images of the Pyramid Head flashed into her mind. Oh god, stay calm, it's probably nothing. She listened intently, but the only sound was a sudden choked sputter from the shower.

The water stopped. Cheryl looked up, twisting her head around to view the shower head more closely. She jumped back just in time as a glob of red gunk slugged from the head. _Eew. That's disgusting_. She examined the glob; it was thick, red, and smelled just god-awful. More was starting to froth from the shower head, so she quickly turned it off. _Blood. Nice._

Cheryl's head knocked back into the tile as something slammed into her through the shower curtain. Her wet feet slipped from under her and she fell in a heap. The monster that had attacked her was entangling the two in the curtain. _A Slurper! UGH!_

"Get off me!" She screamed as the monster crawled along her body. They were so wrapped up in the stupid curtain she couldn't tell where she ended and the crawling monster began. It growled, and she squealed when a long tongue licked at her thigh. "You nasty Slurper get off me!" It was getting harder to breath with the hot, humid steam, and the plastic curtain pressing in on her. With all her strength she shoved herself off the ground and came crashing down on top of the monster. She ripped an arm out of the plastic and began pounding the creature with her metal bat. It cried out and writhed under her blows, but finally collapsed.

"That's what you get you perv!" She huffed, wiping the sweat from her brow and giving the Slurper a last angry kick for good measure. Still soaking wet she tugged on her clothes, grumbling her disdain.

She was about to head for the hall when she heard a light plopping sound.

Turning slowly, her eyes widened as the shower began to drip more blood. First a pitter-patter, then it erupted into a full-blown gushing stream. Red veins sprouted from the head, crisscrossing and tangling about each other as they spread across the room. She felt her heart drop. Otherworld. Valtiel did it.

That was great and all, but she had to get back to the room.

She pulled on the door, only to realize that it was locked. The blood was spewing from the shower, and overflowing. The sink had even started to gurgle up blood. The whole room was hot with steam and reeked of death. Frantically, she pounded on the door, clawing at the handle to be set free. It wouldn't budge. The blood was creeping along the floor toward her feet, swallowing the room up in its red haze. Backing up as far as she could she slammed her shoulder into the door, and burst into the hall.

Cheryl slammed the door shut as the blood flowed toward her. Taking a deep breath of the cool air in the hall, she swiped a wet strand of hair from her face. _I guess I let that moment of peace get to me._ _I better head back to the room now, who knows what kinds of monsters might be around here?_ After her run in with the Pyramid guy, she was going to be extra cautious. She opted to keep her light off and hug the wall to keep from alerting any monsters of her presence.

When she got back to the room, she was met by a frantic Valtiel.

"Cheryl! I was looking everywhere for you!" He dropped from the ceiling to make certain she was alright.

_He is always looking out for me,_ Cheryl smiled. "I see that Otherworld is back." He didn't appear to be as happy as she thought he would be. In fact, he looked really anxious. "What's wrong?" That is was what he had been trying to do for days now…he should be happy.

"I didn't bring it back."

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><p><strong>Alright that's it for this chapter. Why did Otherworld come back? Please review, and once again going to give a shout out to the person that made this awesome, <span>XxTwistedThornxX<span>! Until next time!**


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